A background to the term "environmental refugee": part 2

The term "environmental refugee" is used in many newspaper articles, press releases and civil society releases. It is a term used all around the world. Many international institutions are developing policies that address the concerns environmental refugees may have.

However, in academic and policy arenas, the term is widely disputed. New research argues that the term has been rejected by academic authors (Meyer, forthcoming). 

This is based on the claim by academic, law and policy decision-makers that the term "environmental refugee"  has no legal claim to the term "refugee" and therefore is invalid. According to the Refugee Convention, a refugee is

        ...a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. (United Nations Geneva Refugee Convention, 1951)


According to the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC), a smaller agency that works in cooperation with the UNHCR and which upholds many of the UNHCR's views, environmental factors such as a tsunami or desertification are not considered legitimate claims for asylum. In other words, a person can only be considered a "refugee" if they have experienced persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political organisation, and so on.

An environmental refugee is not a "refugee".

Photo credit: United Nations University

There is consequently very limited legal recognition of environmental refugees. There is very little policy or legal protection of environmental refugees.

In the next 40 years, small island states such as Tuvalu and Kiribati will be inundated. These entire nations will be flooded due to climate change induced sea level rise. But this is not yet recognised in law and policy where it matters.